What do you do when you're handed a $0 marketing budget… and you're launching a credit-card-based app in a country where only 2% of people have credit cards?
Oh — and no one trusts your company?
If you're Akshay BD, you figure it out.
Follow Akshay on X: https://x.com/akshaybd
This week, I’m joined by Akshay — one of Uber India’s earliest employees — who shares the chaos of launching Uber in a cash-based, low-tech, regulation-light market. A country that couldn’t be further from the original Uber model.
From handing out iPhones to suspicious drivers… to fending off police raids, political bans, and near deportations — this is a masterclass in scrappy execution under pressure.
We talk about recruiting the “unhireables,” building policy from scratch, and what it was really like working alongside Travis Kalanick during Uber’s most explosive years.
One of the funniest, sharpest, and most insightful convos we’ve had yet. Let’s go!!
🎯 Topics Covered:
00:00 – The wild way Uber hired in new cities
02:00 – Growing up in Bangalore, debating on Orkut
04:00 – Standup comedy to Uber India
08:30 – Launching Uber in a market with 2% credit cards
11:00 – Convincing drivers Uber wasn’t a scam
14:00 – Making $0 marketing feel like magic
19:00 – The 2014 assault incident and national crisis
24:00 – Becoming “interim head of public policy” overnight
28:00 – Travis gets detained at the airport before meeting India’s Prime Minister
33:00 – Teaching startup culture at scale
41:00 – Why Uber taught you to make lemonade out of thin air
44:00 – Post-Uber lessons, crypto, and what’s next
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🎧 Listen to the full episode:
🔹 Spotify: https://earlypod.com/spotify
🔹 Apple Podcasts: https://earlypod.com/apple
🚀 New episodes drop every Tuesday. Let’s build this together.
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